Radiator for automobiles.



F. TODD." RADIATOR FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 14, 1911.

Patented July 7, 1914,

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anv gg- P. TODD.

RADIATOR FOR AUT OMOBILES. APPLIUATION FILED OUT. 14, 1911.

Patented July 7, 19M

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Q ,MZW Maw FRANK TODD, OF OAK PARK, ILLINOIS.

RADIATOR FOR AUTOMOBILES.

1,10..,soo.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July '7, 1914.

Application filed Octnber 14, 1911. Serial No. 654,

* To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK Tom), a citizen of the United States, residing at Oak Park, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Radiators for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to radiators which are particularly adapted for use on automobiles and other vehicles which are propelled by power derived from internal combustion engines, and in which lightness, compactness and efficiency are desiderata.

In the present state of the art, improvements in radiators for this purpose all have as their objects the providing of radiators having these characteristics, and, in like manner, the object of the present invention is to provide a radiator of the class named, improved to the eXtent that these characten istics. are attained more satisfactorily than by other radiators with which I am familiar.

In one type of radiator of the class named,

the water to be cooled passes through vertical tubes extending from the inlet header to the outlet header and the heat of the water as it passes through the tubes is drawn off or conducted away from the water tube by sheet metal plates or strips (known as radi ating strips) which are inheat conducting contact with the tubes and have large superficial areas. exposed to the air passing throughthe radiator, whereby the heat abinto the air and dissipated. In this type,

- eachof the radiating strips is bent to form a scriesor successions oi substantially U- shapedchannels which open in opposite directions and-which'contact with the sides of adjacenttubes, but this arrangement is open to the objection that wherever the ,closed bottom sides of the channels contact with the tubes there is a double thickness oi" metal through which the heat mustpass in passing from the water in the tubes to the atmosphere. In another type, this double thickness of metal is avoided by forming each U-shaped channel separate from every other, but this is open to the objection that the handling of a multitude of these channels in assembling the parts, adds materially to the cost of production, besides which it is almost impossible to so accurately arrange such a multitude of parts that they will present, inappearance, a symmetrical whole.

a multitude of cells or openlngs symmctrically arranged relatively. Another ob ect of the invention is to provide a radiator having ample radiating capacity and at the same time being of minimum weight and requiring but a minimum quantity of sheet metal.

Another object of the invention is to arrange in the air passage, between adjacent water tubes, two so called radiating strips which bear against each other and against the water tube, and are so shaped that they will provide a series of rectangular channels, the corners of which engage each other and and are so that the vertical and horizontal walls aline with each other, respectively, and

thereby brace each other both vertically and horizontally.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings which are made a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the core of a radiator, together with the upper and lower headers, constructed in accordance with the invention, both-horizontal and vertical portions being broken away to indicate indefiniteness of size, and the thickness of the sheet metal of which the several parts are formed being exaggerated for the sake of clearness. Fig, 2 is a horizontal section of, a portion thereof, on the line 2, Fig. 3, looking downward. Fig. 3 is a front-elevation on a larger scale of the lower right hand corner of the core shown inFig. 1, a fragment of the lower header being shown in section. Figs. 4: and 5 are vertical sections thereof, on the lines 4-4 and 55-, respectively, Fig. 2, looking rearward. Fig. 6 is a side elevation or face view of one of the radiating strips. Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view of a fragment of a blank from which it is formed.

The upper and lower headers are shown I at 1 and 52, respectively. These headers are,

in fact, chambers for receiving from the water jacketof the engine the water to be cooled and for receiving the water, after it is cooled by the radiator and returning it to the water jacket in customary manner. The upper and lower. headers are in internal communication with each other by a number of vertical tubes, 3, which are secured to th headers water tigh-t and which are preferably constructed as shown in Fig. 2. That istosay, each tube is made of a single piece of sheet metal bent upon itself about its longitudinal center to form a plait, a, the sides of which have close contact with each other,

whence the sheet is offset, as shown at 5, so that its parallel sides, 6, are sutliciently far apart to provide the necessary space for the passage of water from the upper to the lower header, th djacent edges of the strip being united by a seam, 7 of any desired construction.

The several water tubes are arranged in a row extending from side to side of the radiator and are of StT'lllClOllt depth from front to back to make only a single row necessary. The tubes are spaced apart to leave between them air passages in each of which is placed two radiating strips, 8, 8 bothofwhich are of precisely the same construction but which are arranged back to back, as it were, or

with their similar features presented in 0pposite directions.

The chief object. of the peculiar formation of these radiating strips is to provide each with a'serics of substantially U-shaped channels, 9, 9, the walls of which form three sides of a rectangle. The parallel side walls of each channel are in heat conduct-' ing contact with one of the tubes so that the 10 heat of the water passing through the tubeis first taken up by the walls of the tube, then conducted through said walls into the walls of the channels, '9, 9 and thence through said walls, which have large radiating surfaces or superficial areas exposed to the air in the air passages aforesaid where it is dissipated. In order to insure contact [between the parallel walls of the channels,

, 9, 9 and the side walls of the tubes, the side walls of the channels are provided with short flanges, 10,10 which bear against the sides of the water tubes. These flanges occur only in rear of the plaits, 4, of the tubes, the parallel side walls .of the channels being continued uninterruptedly tocontact with the plaits as shown more clearly in fFig. 2. The front edges of the plaits of the channels of the radiating strips are flush so i that after the parts are assembled and dipped in a solder bath, the front of the radiator will 'k/square or substantially square cells which i I aline both vertically and horizontally and are without seams. As before intimated, 55 the two radiating strips in each air passage precisely, provided with shoulders or ofiisets,

flpresentthe appearance of a multitude of are arranged back to back so that the open sides of their channels will be presented in opposite directions, 2'. 6., toward the adjacent water tubes, and they are also arranged to alternate or break joints, considered horizontally or in horizontal tiers, so that theircorners come in contact with each other, as shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and 5. The sheet metal of which these radiating strips are formed is Very thin, and in order that the parallel, horizontal walls of the channels shall aline, precisely, and that the vertical walls of the channels shall also aline, the corners of the channels are 11. In theory these offsets are precisely one-half the thickness of the metal of which the strips are made, so that the horizontal walls of adjacent strips will bear against each other so as to aiford, in effect, horizontal braces between the water tubes, and, in like manner, the vertical walls of the channels will form, in effect, a vertical brace between the upper and lower headers. In addition to forming a practically continuous vertical brace extending from header to header, a decided advantage in arranging the radiating strips back to back and so that the channels of one strip alternate with the channels of the other strip is that a double thickness of metal through which the heat must be conducted before reaching and being dissipated in the air in the air passages is avoided. It is manifest that if the radiating strip or strips'were so arranged that the bottoms of the channels would lie fiat against the sides of the water tubes, a double thickness of metal would occur and in addition to this the horizontal sides of the channels would not be braced from top to bottom of the radiator. This formation of U-shaped channels obtains at both the front and back of the radiating strips excepting that at the back the tubes are notplaited, as they are in front, and the parallel horizontal walls of the channels are not provided with the projections 12, which are the result of continuing them to meet the plaits, 4. By omitting these shoulders, '12, at the back of the radiator, the radiating strips may be drawn out from the front of the radiator,

intermediate zone, extending longitudinally of the strip from end to end, the several U- shaped channels are connected by means which will enable-a number of said channels to be manipulated'together, as a single en tity and this is preferably done by making the channels of a blank consisting of a'flat strip of sheet metal so cut thatv it will .enable the parallel sidewalls of the several channels. to be formed by bending portions of the blank at right angles to the general plane thereof, leaving an intermediate portion, 13, l3 'connecting the Ill-shaped channels thus formed,

without disturbing the water tubes. At an its manner as to draw the channels proper toward each other and leave them separated by any desired distance, the intermediate connecting portion being also so bent that it will contact with the side of the adjacent tube. More specifically stated, it will be i seen on reference to Fig. i that the entire radiating strip may be formed from a single blank of flexible sheet metal (preferably copper) which is out upon the full lines adapted to be folded upon the dotted lines. For instance, the portions lying between the cuts, 14, form one complete U-shaped chan-.

nel, 9, (or 9) with its flanges, 10, (or 10*) andv its projections, .12, as shown in Fig. 6. By reason of the inherent flexibility of the sheet metal of which the radiating strips are made, the connections, 13 and 13, may be bent or adjustedinto any desired shape so as to bring the channels, 9, 9, at the desired distance apart.

As shown in the drawings, the connecting portions, 18, are so bent or adjusted that the space between the adjacent channels is the same as the space between the arallel walls of each channel, so that, in tie completed structure, the air passages between the water tubes are reduced to numerous vertically and horizontally alined squares. The connecting portions, 13, are, however, preferably bent or adjusted so that they contact at the points, 14, with the sides of the adjacent water tubes and thus serve to brace the structure horizontally. Furthermore, they are bent into the form of plaits the sides of which do not quite contact with each other and these plaits permit more or less yielding so that the adjacent channels, 9, are self-adjusting in the sense that they will accommodate themselves to each other in assembling the parts. The bottoms of the channels are provided with perforations, 15, and the con necting portions are provided with perforations, 16, which result in reducing the weight of the radiator, as a whole, and at the same time establishing free communication be tween the several air spaces or passages through which the air may circulate. These perforations 15 and 16 also serve as guides for holding the stock while it is being subjected to the action of the forming dies, it being understood that the perforations l5 and 16 are formed in the stock while it is in the fiat andbetore it is subjected to the action of the forming dies.

What I claim as new is:

1. A radiator having a pair of headers, parallel water tubes connecting them and spaced apart to leave air passages between them, and a pair of radiating strips arranged in each of said air passages, each of said radiating strips having along its '0 pcsite edges laterally projecting portions cut to form a plurality of channels each open along one side, the open sides of all adjacent channels being presented in the same direction, the radiatin strips of each pair being arranged back to back and with their channels alternating, the engaging corners of the channels being shouldered or off-set so as to bring the walls of the channels into alinement.

2. A radiator havinga pair of headers, parallel water tubes connecting them and spaced apart to leave air passages between them, and a pair of radiating strips arranged in each of said air passages, each of said radieting strips having along its opposite edges laterally projecting ortions bent to form a plurality of channel each open along one side, the open sides of all adjacent channels being presented in the same direction, the strips of each pair being arranged back to back andv with their channels alternating, the engaging corners of the channels being shouldered or off-set so as to bring the Walls of the channels into alinement, and portions connecting the channels.

A radiator having a pair ofheaders,

parallel water tubes connecting them and spaced apart to leave air passages between them, a pair or radlatlng strips arranged 1n each of said air passages, each of said radiating strips having along its opposite edges portions that are bent to form channels, each open along one side, the open sides of all adjacent channels being presented in the same direction, the radiating strips of each pair being arranged back to back and with their side walls in contact with the water tubes, respectively, the edges of the side walls being flanged to provide ample bearing surface for contacting with the water tubes.

. FRANK TODD. \Vitnesses L. M. HorKINs, I-LC. HILL. 

